My Way or the High Way
If you have ever used WAZE, the mobile app with GPS capabilities typically used by drivers to help guide them to their destination, you know that WAZE taps into input from users to provide real-time updates on traffic conditions, such as accidents or construction and offers alternate routes to your destination. My experience with WAZE is that it is nearly flawless when proposing the best route to a destination, considering the traffic conditions at that time. Despite its proven reliability and accuracy, I often question the guidance provided, choosing to follow my own route, often with undesirable results. Such was the case a few weeks ago while en route home from a round of golf.
After typing in the directions, I realized WAZE was guiding me along an unfamiliar route. Surely this is incorrect, I thought as I retyped the directions into the app, only to have WAZE reply with the same route. Nonsense, I said to myself as I ventured off following my more familiar path, only to find myself stuck in traffic while attempting to access an exit on the freeway that had been temporarily closed due to construction. My error ended up adding about thirty minutes to my commute. Okay, trust WAZE, lesson learned, I thought. However, if this were true, it wouldn't have happened again a few days later on my way to work. With its GPS technology and real-time input from users, I should have appreciated that WAZE has a perspective that is much greater and literally higher than mine. In error, I had a “My way over the High Way” attitude.
This tendency to rely on our limited perspective when navigating through life and to choose our own way is a common trait for us humans. Whether a child, a teenager or a middle-aged adult, the desire to take control seems almost innate. While developing a sense of agency is important for our overall development, stubborn reliance on our limited perspective and a lack of trust in reliable sources is an error that can lead to delays and unnecessary detours. King Solomon provides valuable advice regarding trusting our most reliable resource in Proverbs 3:5-6, a proverb of wisdom from father to son.
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5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
These words of wisdom passed from Solomon to his son are incredibly relevant to us today.
I. Our trust is in the Lord. (v.1) Verse five reminds us that it is in the Lord that we must place our trust. Why? Because He is faithful and worthy in all ways of being trusted. Other sources might be reliable sometimes, or part of the time, but the Lord and the Lord alone is one hundred percent reliable all the time.
“But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
(2 Thessalonians 3:3)
“The Lord’s lovingkindness indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)
II. Trust reflects the condition of our hearts. (v. 5)
The extent to which we place our trust in God reflects the condition of our hearts. Verse five says to trust the Lord “with all your heart.”. Trusting the Lord is a wholehearted commitment and is God’s hope for us as we grow closer to Him.
III. Trusting requires us to shift our perspective (v. 6)
We know we trust the Lord fully when we no longer lean on our limited perspective. It involves shifting our focus from our limited, narrow view and fixing our sights on Jesus Himself. He is our North Star, and we should orient ourselves to Him. Despite the shifting landscape and changing circumstances in our lives, He will provide the way.
As we begin the week, I encourage you to adopt a “High Way over My Way” attitude. Trust that the Lord’s perspective is greater, higher and more reliable than yours. Commit fully to trusting Him by fixing your eyes on Him as your North Star. And when it comes to arriving on time for your next appointment, you can feel free to use WAZE.
Yours in Christ,
Brad
